The Other Woman
by RAB01
Summary: I love him. Unfortunately I am not the only woman who can say that. You see, I am what you would call "the other woman." I, Lavender Brown, am in love with Theodore Nott, who's married to Daphne Nott nee Greengrass. I love him; he loves me and his wife.
1. Prologue: Labels

**Hey Y'all. So I know I am getting ahead of myself by writing a million and one stories at once, but all of these ideas came into my head and I am so freaking excited about them... so I figured what the heck, might as well put these good story ideas to use (well in my opinion they are good story ideas...) ... and here you go. This is a Post-Hogwarts fic (my first EVER, which isn't surprising because its not really my favorite time period to read, but whatever.) Also, this fic will be in first person, centered around some minor characters. Please let me know what you think of the story in a review and if it is even worth continuing.**

Thanks,

RAB

T H E . O T H E R . W O M A N

_P r o l o g u e : L a b e l s_

I love him. Unfortunately I am not the only woman who can say that. You see I am what you would call "the other woman." I just so happen to be in love with a married man and he claims to love me back. Why is love so strange? Why did it have to be HIM that I fell in love with. And no. It is not just lust; I am one hundred and one percent positive that I am in love with the guy. Oh why, why did he already have to be married.

I had gone to school with him and there we had rarely conversed, if at all. We were in two different houses, I a Gryffindor, him a Slytherin, so of course we would not possibly be caught dead together in a civilized conversation. I had my friends and he had his. Sure I thought he was cute, but what girl didn't think he was unbearably attractive? And I am positive he found me attractive as well, not that I am trying to brag or anything. Unfortunately, then I wasn't his type. My mouth was much to large and my ears were even larger.

See I was what you people would label a gossiper, drama queen, princess, bitch... take your pick. It doesn't matter. They are all the same to you. My fellow students only saw me as someone who would gossip to no end, though I am so much more than that; I was so much more than that.

He, however, didn't like the spotlight, like I did. He was a little bit of a loner, preferring not to be part of any gangs, especially Draco Malfoy's. Sure he had friends and even girls chasing after him (we can call them, sluts, okay?), but through and through he liked his peace and quiet. Of course, just because he likes to be alone, that doesn't mean he is a shy, sensitive, and kind guy. Oh no. He still has an attitude and thinks himself superior than the rest... typical Slytherin, huh? Of course he was arrogant, big- headed, and thought more with his pants than his brain...

And then there was _her._ She was just another one of the sluts following him everywhere he went. Sure she was prettier and classier than the other sluts, like Pansy Parkinson, but she still would wear those low cut shirts, way too much make-up for her own good, and skirts that barely covered anything at all. She didn't really care who it was, but she would follow around any half decent looking male; whether it was Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott, or perhaps on the rare occasion a good looking boy from one of the other houses, they followed them just the same.

You could argue that she kind of sounds like me, I suppose perhaps she does a little, but I like to think I wasn't THAT bad. It's not like I STALKED boys, well with the exception of Viktor Krum, but come on what girl didn't when he came to our school during our fourth year (well, with the exception of Hermione Granger... who ended up "getting" him in the end...)? You could argue that I have attachment issues, like when I was dating Ronald Weasley back in sixth year or Seamus Finnagin in fourth year, but come on, I was a teenage girl. Which girl isn't attached to her man a little too much (well except, once again, Hermione Granger... Wow that girl is just too perfect for her own good)?

Oh. Pardon me. I believe I forgot perhaps one of the most important things of our entire story. My name. All of our names.

My name is Lavender Renee Brown and I am madly in love with Theodore Davis Nott, who just so happens to be married to Daphne Viola Nott (nee Greengrass).

And as much as I hate being the "other woman", how else am I suppose to be with the one man I have ever truly loved? Believe me, I have attempted to just simply "walk away", but walking away from a loved one is the hardest possible thing for just about everyone to do.

Besides, really now, what is so wrong with the term "other woman" anyways? Besides the fact the it is wrong to have an affair and the "other women" often break up their lovers' marriages... But really, its not like we WANT to do any of them (well most of us don't anyways...), we just so happen to be in love with a man who is suppose to be "off the market".

Believe me, I wouldn't be doing this if I was not in love with the guy, but I am and I cannot help myself. He's like chocolate or a good piece of gossip, who you want so badly to put it away and forget about, but you can't because it so good and special that you feel the need to hold onto it and never let it go.

And its not like it is just my fault. Theo could stop seeing me; he could say he couldn't do this to his wife anymore, that he couldn't bare to hurt her, but he never did and I assure you, he never will. He needs me the same way I need him and I'm not sure that that will ever change.

I know he loves his wife, but not the same way he loves me.

I know I should walk away from the whole ordeal, but I can't. I really am in love with him and I can't just simply let him go.

Besides, its not like I even know his wife. She's probably doing the same thing with some other guy that her husband is doing with me. She's probably off having an affair with Blaise Zabini, or even her own sister's husband, Draco Malfoy (she always did have a certain fondness for him and I know she was jealous when he married her younger sister, Astoria.)

Well, we could always look at the brightside. At least there are not any children involved in this whole big mess... yet. Oh boy.

All three of us our in our early twenties and I know Theo and his wife are not yet ready to have children, well actually I would not be surprised if Daphne was, but I know for sure Theo is not ready to have a couple of little Theo Juniors running around.

I have to wonder though, if he did have children, if Daphne did get pregnant, would he leave me for good? Would he honesty just drop me in the dirt and end everything we have had so that he can concentrate on his real family? What if I was the one who got pregnant? Would he leave his wife for me? Would he support us? Or would he simply forget about us, forever?

I don't think he will ever leave me. I hope he doesn't.

Daphne and Theo have been married for four years now; Theo and I have been together for two of those years; and I must say, they have been the best two years of my entire life, including all of years at Hogwarts. And mind you, Hogwarts are some of the best years of everyones' lives.

My family and friends keep pushing for me to settle down myself and get married, but I couldn't. I can't possibly leave Theo and he is the only one I can ever imagine getting married to (which wouldn't happen unless he left his dreadful wife... cross your fingers and hope he does.)

Mum and Dad want me to get married so that I can have children. Them and my grandparents both want me to have children so that they can "have grandchildren (or great- grandchildren) before they die".

Oh please. It's not like they are THAT old and neither am I. There is still plenty of time for me to settle down and have children (preferably with Theo.)

Nobody knows about me and Theo; I'm not quite sure what I would do if someone would find out. I imagine I would be quite embarrassed, but that still wouldn't change the fact that I am madly in love with Theodore Nott; I just wish he wasn't married.

I honestly don't think Daphne knows about us. Theo never talks about her when we are together and me and Daphne rarely see each other, if at all.

Everybody makes it seem like being the "other woman" is so scandalous and bad, but come on, wouldn't you do it to if it was the only way to be with the one man you truly loved? Perhaps now you would say that you would never be the "other woman", but if you were in my situation and in love with a married man as much as I was, then I assure you, you would probably be doing the same exact thing that I am doing now.

Perhaps if we had discovered our love sooner, perhaps if it was before he had married Daphne, then perhaps everything would have been better. Rather than trying to meet with each other in secret, we could be deciding on what house we wanted to buy together and what to name our children.

It would have been better if I realized my love for him sooner, but since I cannot change that, I must stick to what I am already labeled as...

The Other Woman.

My whole life I have been labeled as one thing or another. Nobody can simply accept me as a unique individual. At school I was the gossip queen, drama queen, bitch, princess, whatever. At my workplace people labeled me a slut. But if you really had to pick one label for my life, I think it would be safe to say that it would be The Other Woman.

**So? What do you think so far? I know that was REALLY REALLY short, but it was just the prologue to test if the story would be any good. I'd love for y'all to review with any ideas/ suggestion/ thoughts/ corrections that you might have for me. The next chapter may not be out for a bit, because I'll be trying to work on my other fics: _The Untold Story of Isabella Lestrange, Trapped, and Sweetest Lies._ I'm nearing the end for Untold Story and Trapped, so hopefully I can try and finish those soon (my hopes are by the end of summer...). Anyways, let me know what you think of the prologue and the minor characters I have selected.**

**Happy Reading,**

**RAB  
(Don't forget to review... and I know I've said that like fifty times... I apologize...)**

**But I am serious. Review. Please!**

_Preview of next chapter:_

_"Please respond ASAP to inform us if you can come to the wedding and who your date will be..._

_Oh bugger. My date?"_


	2. Chapter 1: The Invitation

**Hey you all! I am happy to say that I have my first chapter (not including the prologue of course...) out for my story THE OTHER WOMAN. Despite the fact I am probably getting ahead of myself for trying to write so many stories at once, I am able to write a lot more chapters over the summer than I am when I am in school. Hopefully this chapter will be much more excited than the prologue... especially because things will actually happen in this chapter...**

THANKS,

RAB

_Previous Chapter:_

_My whole life I have been labeled as one thing or another. Nobody can simply accept me as a unique individual. At school I was the gossip queen, drama queen, bitch, princess, whatever. At my workplace people labeled me a slut. But if you really had to pick one label for my life, I think it would be safe to say that it would be The Other Woman._

**And now I give you the first (real) chapter of THE OTHER WOMAN...**

C H A P T E R . O N E . : T H E . I N V I T A T I O N

The summer heat is unbearably hot as I shift and turn in my silk covers. Realizing that it would be impossible to feel any cooler than I already am, I throw off the covers to my luxurious king sized bed. I can feel the sun beating on me, making the room at least ten degrees warmer than it would be if I had remembered to shut the curtains before I went to sleep last night. Next to me I notice the faint outline of a body, where someone had laid only a few hours before.

Of course he left. He always leaves. But that doesn't mean a part of me doesn't wish so badly that he would be here when I woke up.

Glancing at the pink and white clock on the wall I realize I only had an hour before I had to be at work. Despite what you may (or may not think) an hour is not a very long period of time. An one hour I have to decide which robes to where, wash and straighten my hour, brush my hair, brush my teeth, drink at least three cups of coffee, eat breakfast, do my make-up, and apparate to work... in an hour. See what I mean? I have a lot of stuff to do in such a small amount of time.

Where do I work, you might ask?

Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.

Since Madam Malkin retired a few years back I have taken over for her and am now fully in charge of the store. I know, I know it is a huge responsibility, but believe me, I have a ton of experience in anything and everything that has to do with fashion.

As I apply the last of my make-up (the mascara of course is always last...), I grab my purse and apparate to Madam Malkin's.

The shop is dark when I arrive, but I quickly use my wand to brighten the room. Robes of every color, from midnight black to sunshine yellow and everything in between, are hanging on all around the room, ready for customers to purchase.

I hear the roaring fireplace crackle and look over at it. The flames turn green as a young witch about my age steps out.

Her long black hair flows down her back in curls, swinging slightly as she climbs out of the fireplace. Her extremely dark brown eyes search the room, before finding their way to me. She lets out a giggle and smiles, loudly saying, "good morning, Lavender!"

I smile, laughing lightly at her entrance. "Good morning. You know I still find it funny that you refuse to actually apparte. Why do you prefer floo powder, Parvati?" My voice his light and giggly as I poke fun at my best friend's lack of bravery when it comes to apparation. "How you were ever a Gryffindor, I'll never understand."

"Ha ha," she says, not really laughing. "Did we get the new shipment of those pitch black Hogwarts robes?" she asks me, referring to the robes the Hogwarts student will soon come looking for.

"No, not yet," I answer her. "They aren't due until next week, though."

Parvati Patil has been my best friend since the two of us started Hogwarts more than ten years ago. We had both been two giggling girls who thrived on gossip, divination, and boys. We would spend hours together in our room putting on our make-up, doing our hair, and picking out clothes to wear on the rare occasion that we did not have to wear our school uniform.

"Yes, right; I nearly forgot," she answers, as she makes sure all of the clothes hanging up are all in perfect order.

"Of course you did," I mutter in my breath with a laughing, knowing she won't hear me. I walk over to the register and make sure the money is all in order.

"So what happened to you last night? You just up and left at like, what time was it? 10:30? Isn't that a little early to just leave?" she questions me, referring to me leaving the party we were at at least four hours early than any other socially functioning person.

In reality, I had to go and meet with Theo, but I can't tell my best friend that. I can't tell anyone that; they wouldn't approve. They would tell me I am so much better than that; that I should be with a man who puts me first and not his wife. But isn't this what all men do with me? Let's think back to sixth year, when I was dating Ron Weasley. I know the entire time he loved Hermione more than me and he put her first, but still, he was with me. All of my last couple of boyfriends, all of them before Theo, either cheated on their girlfriend for me or cheated on me for another girl.

This is something I have been around for a very long time; believe me, I know what I am doing.

"Oh, umm, just some silly one night stand, that's all," I lie to her. After being with Theo for so long, lying has become much more natural to me.

She looks at me, skeptically, and I know she isn't sure whether or not to believe me. "Come on, Lav, stop doing this to yourself," she insists as she walks over to the door and flips the sign around so it now reads "Open" on the outside.

Now it is my turn to look at her skeptically. "What are you on about, Parvati?"

"Stop having these stupid, meaningless one night stands. You deserve so much better than that; you need a man who will be with you much longer than one night. Go find a guy that you can settle down with, not some pig who only wants to sleep with you," she cries out at me, right before a customer enters the shop.

While Parvati helps the customer, an elderly witch who I can never seem to remember the name of, I check our storage in the back.

If only Parvati knew about Theo, about how much he means to me and I mean to him. He isn't just a "stupid, meaningless one night stand", we have been going out for three years now, obviously he means more to me than that and I mean more to him than just a quick shag. He is someone I could settle down with, if only he would leave his wife...

Besides, Theo is with me longer than one night and he does not JUST want to sleep with me.

There is just something about Theo, that makes me hungry and desperate for more. He has that 'bad boy' attitude about him and being with him makes me feel like such a rebel. Sure he is a Slytherin, but that only increases said 'bad boy' appeal. His image fits the perfect man: tall, dark, and handsome, with his wavy dark brown hair that makes every girl's heart flutter.

Theo knows how to make me feel sexy and wanted, something no other guy ever seems to be able to do. The way he smiles (and yes, on the very often occasion, smirks) at me, the ways he touches me, the way he kisses me... he is able to make me feel beautiful, something ever girl wants to feel. Theo is able to make me smile, when no one else can. He can...

"Lav," a voice calls, most likely Parvati. "Lavender?"

Quickly, I come running out of the back and realize the store now has several attentional customers. A young woman is looking through colorful robes against the side wall; a child and her mum are looking through our selection of children's robes, and a middle aged wizard is looking through the black robes against are front wall.

I make my way behind the register, to help the elderly witch who Parvati had helped only a few moments before. Looking down at her purchase, one set of black robes and a dark green one, I quickly added up the total and instructed her what the payment would come to.

"Thank you, young lady," she tells me as she gathers up her new robes and makes her way outside of the shop, where the sun in shinning, birds are singing, and plenty of people are walking up and down the streets.

After I help the next few customers, are morning rush slows down and Parvati and I are left alone in the shop.

It isn't five minutes into our conversation about whether or not the new hip magical band, The Obliviators, would stay in style long, when two owls pound harshly onto the window with their beaks.

Parvati leaps up and rushes to open the window, allowing the two birds to wander in. One of the birds, a brown tawny owl, holds out an envelope to Parvati, while the other one, a snowy owl, holds out an envelope to me. Written in red ink in a fancy handwriting is:

_To Ms. Lavender Brown._

_Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions_

_Diagon Alley_

Carefully, I tear open the envelope and pull out a piece of creamy colored parchment, once again written in the fancy handwriting in blood red ink.

_Mr. Arthur and Mrs. Molly Weasley_

_and_

_Mr. Henry and Mrs. Emma Granger_

_request the honor of your presence_

_at the marriage of their children_

_Ronald Bilius Weasley and Hermione Jane Granger_

_at the Burrow_

_Saturday, the Seventeenth of August_

_Three o'clock in the afternoon_

_Please respond to us via owl as soon as possible to inform us if you can come to the wedding and who your date will be._

Oh bugger. My date? I have to bring a date to the wedding of my ex-boyfriend? Once again... oh bugger. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised that I got invited to their wedding, or even that Ron and Hermione are getting married. We all knew the end that those two would end up together and I am not jealous of Hermione or anything... Ron was never the right guy for me... but still I have to bring a date to this wedding? Seriously it is not like I can bring Theodore... so who exactly as I suppose to bring??

"Oh isn't this so exciting!" Parvati exclaims as she lets out a loud squeal. "Oh they are finally getting married! It's about time! And we are even invited to the wedding. This has to be the biggest social event of the entire year! Maybe even of the entire decade! Everyone will be there; everyone from Gryffindor, heck everyone from all of the houses, probably even a few Slytherins; everyone who is anyone is totally going to be at this wedding! There will probably be a whole bunch of celebrities and famous quidditch players there as well" Parvati looks like she is ready to start jumping up and down like a five year old who just got a present from Santa Clause...

"Who are you going to bring as your date? Maybe I'll ask Dean Thomas... or perhaps I'll just wait until he asks me... if he asks me! Oh but I am sure he will. Seamus says he has been meaning to ask me out for ages, but has just been a little nervous... You should go with Seamus! I bet he will ask you! He's had a crush on you since back in forth year when he actually somehow worked up enough nerves to ask you to the Yule Ball.. remember that?" Parvarti continues.

Seriously... since when has she had so much energy and been so horribly energetic and excited about something?

"Slow down there, Parvarti," I say, trying to calm her down, but laughing at her reaction to the wedding and 'biggest social event of the entire year.'

"Oh, I'm sorry Lavender, but you have got to admit this is extremely exciting," she says, her voice no longer sounding like a five year old, as she leans against the wall behind her.

"Yes, okay, it is pretty exciting," I confirm. "But seriously, I have no clue who I am going to bring as a date anyways... Why do we even need to bring a date? Aren't weddings the perfect place to meet a guy, not bring on?" I question, as my fingers slide delicately across the soft parchment inviting me to the wedding.

"Oh come on, I was serious when I said you should go with Seamus; he really does like you. Come on, Lavender, you need to start thinking about serious relationships, not just some stupid one night stands..." Parvati insists as she puts down her own invitation and checks her watch.

"I doubt I have spoken to Seamus in almost a year," I tell her, as my hands brush through my perfect blonde hair. "Isn't he dating Susan Bones, from Hufflepuff?" I ask her, trying to shift the focus from the love life of me and Seamus.

"No, they broke up over two months ago; come on Lav, you should really stay up to date on the gossip. Apparently Dean claims that Seamus didn't think Susan spent enough time with him. Or well, that's what my sister said Cho Chang told her... apparently Cho heard it from Roger Davies, who heard it from Katie Bell, who heard it from Alicia Spinnet, who heard it from Angelina, who heard it from Dean Thomas who had apparently heard it from Seamus, himself. Really though, you see it is all from reliable sources, so it must be true..."

I laugh at her logic.

Well, maybe if I don't have a date and Parvati doesn't have a date we can both so stag together. I mean seriously why do either of us HAVE to have dates at all. I'm sure there will be plenty of single men there that Parvati can flirt with and I can stay my distance away from. Would flirting with them be like cheating on Theo? I know for sure if I got some silly date for the wedding that Theo would not like it... So that's it, me and Parvati will both go to the wedding alone. Perfect.

The bells on the door jingle as someone walks into our shop. Tall, dark, and handsome, the young man is wearing dark red robes, as he scratches his head, closing the door behind him.

"Hey Dean!" Parvati exclaims excitedly as she rushes over to greet him. "It's so good to see you! Can I help you with anything? A new robe, maybe?"

He shakes his head, before once again moving his hand up to scratch the back of his neck. "Actually I was just wondering if you wanted to be my date for Hermione and Ron's wedding?" he asks, nervously.

Once again.

Oh bugger.

But... maybe she will say no!

"I'd love to," Parvati says, letting out a giggle.

Once again... for like the third time..

Oh bugger.

Oh bugger.

Oh bugger.

So much for both of us going stag. Now I'll just look like some crazy blonde who couldn't get a date to a simple little wedding.

Oh bugger.

Sometimes it is a pain being the other woman... not being able to take your boyfriend to something as little as a friend's wedding.

Oh bugger.

**So? What do you think of the first real chapter? This chapter took me ages to actually write and post because my internet has been going off and on recently. Yeah we have two new characters in this chapter (I wanted to make sure I don't have like fifty characters introduced in one chapter... but I guess we would recognize them all so it is no big deal...) I'm trying to make sure this is pretty cannon with the books, but we will see how that works out. So far I have no plans to create any of my own characters for this story... but once again we will have to see how this all works out. I probably won't be able to update for at least a week but we'll see. I still have to post my next chapters of TRAPPED and SWEETEST LIES before I can post chapter two of this story. My apologizes but I do not have a chapter preview for the next chapter yet.**

Thanks for reading and I hope you love it,

RAB


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